Gråsten Castle (Danish: Gråsten Slot) is best known for being the summer residence of the Danish Royal Family. It is located in Gråsten in the Jutland region of southern Denmark. The main house has a modern, all-white facade, with Venetian doors opening onto sweeping, manicured lawns and gravel walkways. The grounds include a huge stables court.

History

Legend says that Gråsten Castle is where Hans Christian Andersen wrote, The Little Match Girl, during his visit in 1845, but that's not true. He wrote it when he visited Augustenborg Castle. The present-day main house is believed to have been the south wing of the second structure that was built in 1603 to replace the hunting lodge which had been destroyed in a fire in the middle of the 16th century. After about three and a half succeeding centuries of ownership by Danish nobles, Gråsten Slot was taken over by the State, extensively restored, and by 1935, it was the summer residence for then-Crown Prince Frederik, later King Frederik IX, and Crown Princess Ingrid, later Queen Ingrid, who adored the castle until her death in November 2000.

Landscape and additional structures

The property includes a stables court, manicured lawns, and gravel walkways. The castle grounds themselves are an oft-described-as-Romantic landscape. The landscape, and especially the gardens are said to be Anglo-inspired. The palace chapel, the only part of the estate that is open to the public, is a copy of the Jesuit Church of Antwerp. Despite a badly damaged interior from the Schleswig wars, the chapel is decorated with 80 paintings. The chapel was also the setting for the 2000 christening of Prince Nikolai of Denmark (son of Prince Joachim and first wife Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg). The chapel has bilingual congregations, with German and Danish services to accommodate the mix of local culture. The estate area has an area of 6.6 km² (2.5 mile²).